NTM - New Tribes Mission | Planting Tribal Churches

This past year we have seen our family spread out around five countries in the world.

Martha moved to the States to take up a position on staff at New Tribes Bible Institute.  She is part of the Dean’s department, working one on one with the single girls students.  It is challenging and exciting and scary for her all at the same time.

Benjamin and Missy and their four kids moved to Papua New Guinea.  They would like to be involved in church planting and are currently in orientation.  Part of that will involve a four week trip to a bush location to continue their study of Pidgin English, the PNG culture and to help them prepare to live in the bush themselves.

Isaac moved to Israel where he is halfway through his first year at medical school.  God has amazingly provided all his school fees despite not being eligible for student loans either in the US or UK.  He is planning on getting married to Camille, an MK from Mexico,  in Mexico on the 8 July this year.

We often prayed that God would be pleased to use us as a family and he certainly is answering that prayer as each and every one is seeking to walk with the Lord.  Thank God.

Pictures from L – R:  Martha with her neices; Benjamin and Missy and family in PNG; Isaac with his fiancee, Camille

Yesterday, Lisa and I stood at the top of Slieve Bearnagh together with our kids, Deborah, Martha and Isaac and good friend Geoff McNab.  Geoff is an experienced hill walker and guided us to the top of Bearnagh, the third highest peak in the Mourne Mountains at 2386ft.

We drove down to the Mournes in heavy fog and wondered at the point of hiking the mountains in fog but were encouraged by Geoff who thought it was an excellent day.  Throughout our day we were taken aback at glimpses of the mountains as fog cleared and covered the peaks again.  At times we walked the Mourne Wall, a 22 mile wall built in the early 1900′s to enclose the Mournes’ water catchment.

The day ended in high spirits and aching bodies, glad we didn’t let a bit of fog keep us from enjoying a wonderful day on the Mournes.

Pictures:  Above – the view from the top of Slieve Bearnagh;  Below – the Mourne Wall

We have just left Benjamin and Missy and their kids to the airport.  They had a mountain of baggage, it seemed, which, unfortunately, they have to pick up in London to check in for their flight to Australia.

They will have a 12 hour flight followed by a 9 hour flight followed by a 12 hour layover followed by a 5 hour flight.

Pray for the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual strength and stamina for the journey.  Thanks!

Benjamin and Missy and their four kids leave the USA tomorrow, Monday 4 October for PNG.  It is quite incredible to think that Lisa and I left for PNG nearly 25 years ago with our four children who were about the same ages as their children are now.

We have the joy of spending the next nine days with them as they stop over in N. Ireland before going on to PNG.  It will be a chance for them to see our mothers who they haven’t seen for five years and haven’t seen Tiernan or Silas, so we are delighted about that.

Pray for them, for the parting, for the travel details and for the many, many adjustments that face them once they arrive in PNG.  For our part, we are thrilled to see God at work in their lives.

We had the joy of visiting the kids and grandkids in the States last month.  We visited Benjamin and Missy in Michigan where we were able to help them finish up packing their crates to send to PNG.  They have their tickets in hand and will be leaving for PNG 4 October, so do pray for them as they pack up the final things in their house and say their good byes.  We enjoyed time with Martha and I was able to do a few jobs for her around her apratment at the Bible School.  Hadn’t much time with her as school had started and she was busy but just great to have her pop into Benjamin and Missy’s for meals or a chat.

We were able to spend time with Christopher and Mandy in Ohio where I got to see our granddaughter, Maggie, for the first time.  It was quite an eventful week for Sadie, the oldest, as she started kindergarten and is loving it.  It was wonderful to see God provide for Christopher and Mandy in an unexpected way to be able to send her to Christian school.  Also, God provided all that was needed to get much needed repairs done to their van.

When in the States this summer, we had opportunity to visit supporters in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  Our son, Benjamin, has become an American citizen so had to study American history.  He became interested in it and introduced us to a DVD series on John Adams, the second president of the United States.  We learned how significant Philadelphia was in the founding days of the United States.

Since we had the last day in Philadelphia waiting on our flight home, we visited the Liberty Bell and the Independence Hall where the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the American Constitution was signed.  We were glad to feel part of the history and had much to reflect on while we waited on our flight which was delayed for five hours

In February, Isaac was accepted by the Ben Gurion Medical School to train as a doctor specializing in medicine for developing countries.  He is in Israel with enough funds to get him through his first semester.  Pray that God would raise up the funds he needs to continue.  Pray also that God would help him find a good apartment with good mates at a good price.

He passed through North Cotes on the way and we enjoyed him for a week.

Our school year came to an end with the graduation of 25 students from our Biblical Studies course, 17 students from our Cross Cultural Communication Course and 3 students from our Applied Linguistics Course.  Of the 25 Biblical Studies students who graduated, 15 will be going on to further training with NTM, 13 here in the UK and 2 in the USA. Pray for those who have graduated from the CCC and AL courses as they enter a year of partnership development before heading to their fields of service.

We look ahead to the new year starting in September and are anticipating 30 students for the Biblical Studies course.  This is the case even though the school accreditation process wasn’t able to be completed in time to allow non-EU students to attend.  The last step is to have our courses accredited and this we trust will be done for the next school year starting in September 2011.

We are currently taking part in our mission’s refresher course, a time to get together with NTM missionaries from Europe at home on furlough or on home staff.  There are eight nationalities represented who work in four continents.  Pray that we will know times of refreshing that come from the presence of the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers for the course Lisa and I taught together last term.  We heard a number of comments from the students who said that it was helpful to them.

We are approaching our final term of the year.  I will be teaching 2 Corinthians and The Christian Life.  I would appreciate your prayers to teach with accuracy and passion.

Our CCC* students are in Mission Simulation at the moment, living in tents for five weeks with limited access to the outside world to simulate the isolation of working in a tribe.

Refresher Course is for any of our missionaries home on furlough.  It is to be held in August and I have been asked to speak.  Pray that God would give me something ‘refreshing’ to share.

*CCC = Cross Cultural Communication the name of the second phase of missionary training here at North Cotes.

Just last week, the Uriay people in PNG began to hear the message of the gospel for the first time in their own language.  ‘In the beginning God…’ are such familiar words to us and yet the beginning of a new world view for the Uriay.

Pray that God would deal with any distractions, give the missionaries good health and a conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit and that they Uriay would be left in no doubt as to the choice they have to make when the teaching comes to a climax.